I still don't understand why businesses let these BSA asshats even into their building. They're not cops, so if they show up at your place you can kick them the fuck out, and if they refuse to leave you can have them arrested.
Bush actually had good reasons to do what he did, and Obama continues these odious policies as a distasteful but very real necessity.
I have never heard any explanation, even theoretical, that can justify these actions. Every single one of them either already has a existent legal recourse that could be applied, or there is a simple way to change current law to fix it without turning into a constitutional crisis/police state.
For a number of years I've wanted a slashdot greasemonkey extension called something like "slashback" which would restrict all comments to people with UID lower than your own, thus returning slashdot to the same user community that got you to sign up in the first place.
I'd respond to this, but unfortunately I can't see your post.
[...] if the first paragraph is accurate, I'd tend to agree with the last one too.
The problem is that while the first paragraph is (mostly) accurate, the conclusion drawn from it widely misses the mark. These events are not meant to be glorified, but rather to highlight the frightening and disturbing past of the characters involved in them.
For example, the "superhero protagonist" who kills the pregnant woman is not a protagonist at all - the character in question is more accurately a catalyst for the plot than a force for good or evil. The event where he shoots the woman is not even being used in the narrative to highlight anything about his character (he's been thoroughly established as a complete bastard by this point), but rather to bring up important points about another character.
The other events listed in that paragraph are similarly misunderstood when taken so completely out of context. Half of them never even appear on-screen but are rather only implied or mentioned by other characters.
You can email him at uzi@nissan.com. Oh wait, no you can't, because he lost nissan.com when he was accused of cybersquatting his own name.
Except, of course, that he does still own the domain name; Nissan Motor lost the lawsuit. Perhaps you should have tried either (a) reading the webpage you yourself linked to, or (b) going to nissan.com and seeing what was there.
But don't take it from me. Ask the people who have lost their families in the atrocities of war. Ask the victims of the Hiroshima bombing how dangerous concentrated political power really is.
You had me until the Hiroshima reference. Next time, don't use a sample from a war where the US wasn't the aggressor.
Take your pick: political corruption, economic misfortune, rulers more interested in retaining power than the general welfare, etc, etc, etc.
Y'know, you could easily be talking about the US in this sentence... you really need to include something in that list that is a problem the Middle East but not the western world.
I believe I first read HHGTTG when I was ~11, and while some of the irony and sarcasm probably went over my head, there was still more than enough humor and adventure to keep me interested in the book.
I love Bester's work as well, but am unsure I would suggest any of his non-comic book work to pre-teens. If I were going to choose one, I'd probably go with The Demolished Man over The Stars My Destination.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a good, easy read, and is what actually got me started reading Sci-Fi. Ender's Game is excellent, and while a little dark in places, it's no darker than most classic fairy tales.
Also, if you're at all interested in getting them some fantasy books, two of the absolute best reads would have to be Clive Barker's The Thief of Always, and China Mieville's Un Lun Dun.
Nightsticks: Effective only if you get a good, strong headshot. If you don't incapacitate the criminal, it just makes them madder. If you think this, then you're absolutely using them wrong. Nightsticks have the shape they have for a reason; they are designed to assist in tripping and trapping/pinning maneuvers.
Also, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a case where the officer doesn't first say, "Settle down or you are going to be tased." Often this warning is issued repeatedly before action is taken. Like the time a cop didn't like a guy sitting on a bicycle asking questions?
Also, even if they issue a warning, is it still justified to tase a suspect if they literally sit unmoving after the warning? (Such as the multiple instances of tasering people who were in comas or in shock at the time?)
I'd say that tasers should be classified as "less-lethal" devices. If a cop feels that the situation is escalating into one where he would be justified in pulling out a gun, but feels that the gun is not entirely necessary, that's when the taser should be allowed. i.e. those borderline "I'm gonna have to shoot him to stop him, but I don't want to have to kill him" situations. If the officer wouldn't be justified pulling a gun in the situation, he shouldn't be justified pulling a taser, either.
For Amazon, the back end solution that drives the 1-click process possibly deserves protection. Really? Which part? The "database" or the "information stored in a database"?
Slashdot Mirror
I still don't understand why businesses let these BSA asshats even into their building. They're not cops, so if they show up at your place you can kick them the fuck out, and if they refuse to leave you can have them arrested.
You're a member of "The Ninja Party", aren't you?
Uhhh... you do realize that you just attempted to use the best argument against your position to defend your position, right?
I was raised on 'treat people the way you want to be treated', and I do.
Too bad whoever raised you didn't explain what that phrase is supposed to mean.
And if they treat me like shit, they must want to be treated the same way, so I do.
So everyone should treat everyone else in the manner of the worst person they have ever met? (That is the logical end result of your statement.)
the first time you lose someone to a terrorist act, you'll drop your high and mighty attitude pretty damn quick.
I really like the way you make assumptions not just about what I'd do in such a case, but that you also assume that it hasn't happened already.
Bush actually had good reasons to do what he did, and Obama continues these odious policies as a distasteful but very real necessity.
I have never heard any explanation, even theoretical, that can justify these actions. Every single one of them either already has a existent legal recourse that could be applied, or there is a simple way to change current law to fix it without turning into a constitutional crisis/police state.
Can you get the terrorists to stop violating human rights?
Wow. Way to play the "if terrorists do it, it's OK for us to do it, too" card.
Where are the posts comparing Obama to Hitler? Would Stalin be a better comparison?
The posts are comparing Obama to Bush. That's practically the same thing, nowadays.
For a number of years I've wanted a slashdot greasemonkey extension called something like "slashback" which would restrict all comments to people with UID lower than your own, thus returning slashdot to the same user community that got you to sign up in the first place.
I'd respond to this, but unfortunately I can't see your post.
[...] if the first paragraph is accurate, I'd tend to agree with the last one too.
The problem is that while the first paragraph is (mostly) accurate, the conclusion drawn from it widely misses the mark. These events are not meant to be glorified, but rather to highlight the frightening and disturbing past of the characters involved in them.
For example, the "superhero protagonist" who kills the pregnant woman is not a protagonist at all - the character in question is more accurately a catalyst for the plot than a force for good or evil. The event where he shoots the woman is not even being used in the narrative to highlight anything about his character (he's been thoroughly established as a complete bastard by this point), but rather to bring up important points about another character.
The other events listed in that paragraph are similarly misunderstood when taken so completely out of context. Half of them never even appear on-screen but are rather only implied or mentioned by other characters.
[...] where the book and movie have some major disjoint but each is masterful within its realm.
Probably the greatest example of a book changing when made into a movie, yet both being fantastic in their own ways, would be Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Blade Runner.
Don Warrington. He has a sense of presence that would be excellent for the next Doctor.
...and barring, by law, the resale of those extra things.
If it's sold to you, you should have the right to resell it. Not just the right to resell some of it.
...so his plan all along was the same as that of most high-level Republicans?
You can email him at uzi@nissan.com. Oh wait, no you can't, because he lost nissan.com when he was accused of cybersquatting his own name.
Except, of course, that he does still own the domain name; Nissan Motor lost the lawsuit.
Perhaps you should have tried either (a) reading the webpage you yourself linked to, or (b) going to nissan.com and seeing what was there.
But don't take it from me. Ask the people who have lost their families in the atrocities of war. Ask the victims of the Hiroshima bombing how dangerous concentrated political power really is.
You had me until the Hiroshima reference. Next time, don't use a sample from a war where the US wasn't the aggressor.
Take your pick: political corruption, economic misfortune, rulers more interested in retaining power than the general welfare, etc, etc, etc.
Y'know, you could easily be talking about the US in this sentence... you really need to include something in that list that is a problem the Middle East but not the western world.
I believe I first read HHGTTG when I was ~11, and while some of the irony and sarcasm probably went over my head, there was still more than enough humor and adventure to keep me interested in the book.
I love Bester's work as well, but am unsure I would suggest any of his non-comic book work to pre-teens. If I were going to choose one, I'd probably go with The Demolished Man over The Stars My Destination.
Absolutely. His best scifi is the Bromeliad Trilogy (consisting of Truckers, Diggers, and Wings).
The Johnny Maxwell series is quite good as well.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a good, easy read, and is what actually got me started reading Sci-Fi.
Ender's Game is excellent, and while a little dark in places, it's no darker than most classic fairy tales.
Also, if you're at all interested in getting them some fantasy books, two of the absolute best reads would have to be Clive Barker's The Thief of Always, and China Mieville's Un Lun Dun.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus, or Nod32. (I personally use KAV, and suggest that one to my clients.)
...the problem being that the law requires licensing saying you know how to do P.I. work, but no actual knowledge of computers is required.
Also, even if they issue a warning, is it still justified to tase a suspect if they literally sit unmoving after the warning? (Such as the multiple instances of tasering people who were in comas or in shock at the time?)
What if you had four officers on top of a person who had already been overpowered by just one of the officers alone?
I'd say that tasers should be classified as "less-lethal" devices. If a cop feels that the situation is escalating into one where he would be justified in pulling out a gun, but feels that the gun is not entirely necessary, that's when the taser should be allowed. i.e. those borderline "I'm gonna have to shoot him to stop him, but I don't want to have to kill him" situations. If the officer wouldn't be justified pulling a gun in the situation, he shouldn't be justified pulling a taser, either.